Australia's estimated resident population (ERP) reached 21.96 million at 30 June 2009, increasing by 456,700 people since 30 June 2008. The 2008-09 growth rate of 2.1% was higher than the average annual growth rate of 1.8% for the five years to June 2009.

All states and territories experienced population growth in 2008-09 with the largest population increases continuing to be recorded in Australia's three most populous states. New South Wales experienced the greatest growth (up by 119,500 people), followed by Queensland (116,500) and Victoria (116,300). This was the first year since 2000-01 that any state overtook Queensland as the largest growing state.

For the third consecutive year, Western Australia recorded the fastest population growth rate at 3.1% in 2008-09, ahead of Queensland (2.7%), the Northern Territory (2.5%) and Victoria (2.2%). The remaining states and territories had population growth rates below the Australian average, with Tasmania experiencing the slowest growth at 1.1%.

Population growth continued to be most prominent in inner city areas, outer suburbs, urban infill areas and along the coast. Areas that have seen decline include inland, rural areas that have been affected by drought in the last few years or mining areas.

SLA POPULATION CHANGE, Australia - 2008-09

The following commentary refers mainly to population changes in Local Government Areas (LGAs), however in some cases selected Statistical Local Areas (SLAs) are referred to, particularly where LGAs cover multiple SLAs, such as in Brisbane (C), or don't exist, such as in the Australian Capital Territory.

New South Wales had the largest growth (119,500 people) of all Australian states and territories in 2008-09.

In 2008-09, nine of the ten fastest growing LGAs in New South Wales were within the Sydney SD, including the adjacent LGAs of Canada Bay (A) (4.7%) and Strathfield (A) (3.4%) in the inner west, and Auburn (A) (3.7%) in central western Sydney.

Victoria

Melbourne SD's growth of 93,500 people was the largest of all the Australian capital city SDs in 2008-09.

The LGA of Wyndham (C), located on the western suburban fringe of Melbourne SD, experienced the largest and fastest growth (10,800 people or 8.1%) of all Victorian LGAs.

The fastest population growth outside of the Melbourne SD occurred in the coastal LGA of Surf Coast (S) (3.9%).

Queensland

Queensland had the second largest growth of all states and territories in 2008-09 (116,500 people).

The three most populous LGAs in Australia, Brisbane (C), Gold Coast (C) and Moreton Bay (R), recorded the largest increases in population in 2008-09. Brisbane (C) increased by 21,200 people, the Gold Coast (C) increased by 15,600 people, and Moreton Bay (R) by 13,300 people.

Outside of south-east Queensland, the LGA of Townsville (C) reported the largest growth in the year to June 2009, with an increase of 5,600 people (3.2%).

South Australia

Copper Coast (DC), on the northern Yorke Peninsula, and Playford (C), in the northern suburbs of the Adelaide SD, were the two fastest-growing LGAs in the state, increasing by 3.2% and 2.8% respectively.

During 2008-09 the two LGAs with the largest population growth in the state were Salisbury (C) in the northern suburbs of the Adelaide SD, which increased by 2,500 people, followed by Onkaparinga (C) in Adelaide's southern suburbs, which increased by 2,300 people.

Western Australia

Western Australia again had the fastest growth of all states and territories.

Strong population growth continued in the outer suburban fringes of the Perth SD.

Outside Perth, the South West SD was the state's fastest growing region (4.0%), followed by the Pilbara (3.1%).

Tasmania

Tasmania's population grew by 5,400 people in 2008-09 to 503,300. All four Tasmanian SDs experienced population growth.

Brighton (M) in the south and Latrobe (M) in the north were the fastest growing LGAs. The LGAs with the largest growth were Kingborough (M), Brighton (M) and Clarence (C) in the south, all within commuting distance of Hobart.

Northern Territory

Palmerston (C) had the fastest population growth (4.4%) of all Northern Territory LGAs in 2008-09.

At 30 June 2009, more than 14.0 million people, close to two-thirds of Australia's population, resided in a capital city Statistical Division (SD). The combined population of capital city SDs increased by 310,200 in the 12 months to June 2009.

In 2008-09, Melbourne recorded the largest growth of all capital city SDs, increasing by 93,500 people, followed by Sydney (85,400), Perth (52,200) and Brisbane (52,100). The population growth in Melbourne SD equated to an average increase of almost 1,800 people per week, while the population of Sydney SD increased by over 1,600 people per week.

Population growth in Australia's capital city SDs occurred at a rate of 2.3% in 2008-09, faster than that in the remainder of Australia (1.9%). Greater Hobart had the lowest growth rate at 1.2%.

The growth rates experienced in all capital city SDs for 2008-09 were higher than their average annual growth rates over the five years to June 2009.

The LGAs with the largest and fastest population increases in Australia in 2008-09 were both inner-city LGAs. The largest increase (21,200 people) occurred in Brisbane (C), Australia's most populous capital city LGA. Perth (C) was Australia's fastest-growing LGA, increasing in population from 15,200 to 17,100 people, an annual growth rate of 12.8%. This is the sixth consecutive year in which Perth (C) has been the fastest-growing capital city LGA.

The 2008-09 growth rates in the capital city LGAs of Melbourne (C) (4.0%), Sydney (C) (2.6%) and Adelaide (C) (2.4%) were lower than their average annual growth rates over the five years to June 2009. Construction of multistorey apartment buildings in these capital city LGAs had led to higher rates of population growth three or more years earlier.

In contrast, the 2008-09 growth rates in the capital city LGAs of Perth (C), Brisbane (C) and Darwin (C) were higher than their average annual growth rates over the five years to June 2009.

Many LGAs which experienced large and/or rapid growth were located on or near the boundaries of capital city SDs, where more land tends to be available for subdivision and housing development. In the Melbourne SD, the population in the outer-suburban LGA of Wyndham (C) increased by 10,800 (8.1%) in the 12 months to June 2009, which was both the largest and fastest increase of all Victorian LGAs. Strong growth was also experienced in Casey (C) (up 8,400 people or 3.5%) and Melton (S) (7,300 people or 7.9%).

The LGAs of Wanneroo (C) and Stirling (C), on the northern and north-western outskirts of the Perth SD recorded strong growth, increasing by 9,500 and 5,000 people respectively. Wanneroo (C) also had the second-highest growth rate (7.1%) of all outer-suburban LGAs in the Perth SD, behind Serpentine-Jarrahdale (S) (7.6%) in the south-east.

In the Brisbane SD, the largest growth occurred in the outer suburban SLAs of Ipswich (C) - East (4,300 people), Ipswich (C) - Central (2,700) and Griffin-Mango Hill (1,800) in the Moreton Bay (R) LGA.

Three of the LGAs with the largest population increases in New South Wales were outer-suburban Blacktown (C) (up 6,900 people), The Hills Shire (A) (4,800) and Liverpool (C) (4,600).

Outer-suburban areas in the smaller capital city SDs also experienced some of the strongest growth in their states or territories. The Adelaide LGAs of Salisbury (C), Onkaparinga (C) and Playford (C) recorded the largest population increases of all LGAs in South Australia in 2008-09, increasing by 2,500, 2,300 and 2,100 people respectively. On the outskirts of Darwin, the population in Palmerston (C) increased by 1,200 (4.4%) and in Litchfield (M) by 500 (2.8%). In Greater Hobart, the outer LGA of Kingborough (M) increased by 650 people, the largest increase in Tasmania; and in Canberra, the SLAs of Amaroo and Franklin had the largest growth, increasing by 600 (9.5%) and 560 people (184.5%) respectively. The nearby SLA of Harrison also had large and rapid growth increasing by 530 people (14.5%) in 2008-09.

Urban infill is the development of a site within an already-developed area, either by building housing on land that was previously vacant or used for non-residential purposes, or by replacing low-density housing with higher-density dwellings. Infill development is becoming more common on transport corridors, near commercial hubs and in suburbs where there are older houses on large blocks of land.

In 2008-09, urban infill contributed to a large population increase in Parramatta (C) and Canada Bay (A) in western Sydney, where the population increased by 4,800 and 3,400 respectively. Other areas where urban infill was evident include the southern Perth LGAs of Armadale (C), up 4.6%, and Cockburn (C) where the population grew by 4.5%.

Outside of capital city SDs, the largest population growth generally occurred along the Australian coast in 2008-09. Several LGAs on Queensland's seaboard had large population increases including the Gold Coast (C) (up 15,600 people) and Sunshine Coast (R) (9,600) in south-east Queensland, and Townsville (C) (5,600) and Cairns (R) (5,200) in the north.

Lake Macquarie (C), on the coast to the north of Sydney, had the largest population growth in New South Wales outside of the Sydney SD, increasing by 2,900 people.

Many coastal LGAs in Western Australia were also among the fastest-growing in Australia. Rapid population growth occurred in 2008-09 in the LGAs of Capel (S) (6.0%), Mandurah (C) (5.1%) and Port Hedland (T) (4.9%).

Some LGAs in inland areas outside of capital city SDs also experienced rapid growth in the 12 months to June 2009. Murray (S), which is north of the Perth SD experienced the fastest increase of all inland LGAs (up 6.5%), followed by Chittering (S) (5.5%) then Katanning (S) (5.0%). Inland areas of Queensland that experienced rapid growth include Lockyer Valley (R) (4.6%) and Somerset (R) (4.5%), to the west and north-west of Brisbane respectively.

Population losses in 2008-09 mainly occurred in inland rural Australia, particularly in north-eastern and south-eastern parts of Australia and in rural Western Australia.

The LGA of Murrindindi (S) in Victoria experienced a substantial population decline in the year to June 2009 (1,000 people or 7.1%) largely due to the bushfires that occurred in February 2009.

Other LGAs with large population declines were Mt Isa (C) (down 160 people) in Queensland, Broken Hill (C) (130) in New South Wales, and Coolgardie (S) (130) and Ravensthorpe (S) (110) in Western Australia. These LGAs all have a strong association with mining activity.

The fastest declines in population (excluding LGAs with populations less than 2,000 as at June 2008) also occurred in Raventhorpe (S) and Coolgardie (S), with declines of 4.2% and 3.1% respectively. These were followed by the LGAs of Kojonup (S) in south eastern Western Australia (2.1%) and Peterborough (DC) in South Australia (1.6%).

As at June 2009, 68.6% of the population resided in Australia's major cities, as defined in the Remoteness Structure of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (cat. no. 1216.0). In comparison, just 2.3% lived in remote or very remote Australia. Major cities were the fastest-growing remoteness areas (RAs) in Australia (2.2%) in the 12 months to June 2009, followed by Inner Regional areas (2.1%). The remaining RAs grew slower than Australia as a whole (2.1%), with remote areas growing at the slowest rate (0.9%).

The Australian Capital Territory had the greatest proportion of its population living in the major cities RA (99.9%) while Tasmania had the highest percentage (64.7%) living in inner regional Australia, which includes Hobart. The Northern Territory had the highest proportion of its population living in outer regional Australia (55.7%), which includes Darwin, as well as remote (21.4%) and very remote (22.9%) Australia.

In 2008-09, major cities were the fastest-growing RAs in Victoria (2.4%) and New South Wales (1.9%), while inner regional areas were the fastest-growing in the Australia Capital Territory (4.8%), Western Australia (4.7%), Queensland (2.9%) and South Australia (1.6%). Outer regional RAs experienced the fastest growth in the Northern Territory (3.1%) and Tasmania (1.2%).

ESTIMATED RESIDENT POPULATION BY REMOTENESS STRUCTURE(a)

ERP at 30 June

Change

2008r

2009p

2008r-09p

no.

no.

no.

%

New South Wales

Major Cities of Australia

5 105 986

5 201 146

95 160

1.9

Inner Regional Australia

1 423 959

1 444 271

20 312

1.4

Outer Regional Australia

447 594

451 563

3 969

0.9

Remote Australia

32 853

32 948

95

0.3

Very Remote Australia

4 495

4 493

-2

-

Total

7 014 887

7 134 421

119 534

1.7

Victoria

Major Cities of Australia

3 996 729

4 091 159

94 430

2.4

Inner Regional Australia

1 069 936

1 089 049

19 113

1.8

Outer Regional Australia

255 577

258 287

2 710

1.1

Remote Australia

4 736

4 733

-3

-0.1

Total

5 326 978

5 443 228

116 250

2.2

Queensland

Major Cities of Australia

2 573 616

2 644 501

70 885

2.8

Inner Regional Australia

943 299

970 988

27 689

2.9

Outer Regional Australia

655 303

672 888

17 585

2.7

Remote Australia

86 153

86 525

372

0.4

Very Remote Australia

50 199

50 201

2

-

Total

4 308 570

4 425 103

116 533

2.7

South Australia

Major Cities of Australia

1 166 185

1 181 119

14 934

1.3

Inner Regional Australia

195 372

198 510

3 138

1.6

Outer Regional Australia

182 697

183 812

1 115

0.6

Remote Australia

45 814

46 176

362

0.8

Very Remote Australia

13 917

13 973

56

0.4

Total

1 603 985

1 623 590

19 605

1.2

Western Australia

Major Cities of Australia

1 550 727

1 599 060

48 333

3.1

Inner Regional Australia

282 945

296 249

13 304

4.7

Outer Regional Australia

199 171

203 221

4 050

2.0

Remote Australia

95 935

97 411

1 476

1.5

Very Remote Australia

48 202

49 116

914

1.9

Total

2 176 980

2 245 057

68 077

3.1

Tasmania

Inner Regional Australia

322 171

325 487

3 316

1.0

Outer Regional Australia

165 375

167 378

2 003

1.2

Remote Australia

7 753

7 830

77

1.0

Very Remote Australia

2 623

2 597

-26

-1.0

Total

497 922

503 292

5 370

1.1

Northern Territory

Outer Regional Australia

122 066

125 817

3 751

3.1

Remote Australia

47 839

48 408

569

1.2

Very Remote Australia

50 598

51 713

1 115

2.2

Total

220 503

225 938

5 435

2.5

Australian Capital Territory

Major Cities of Australia

345 799

351 670

5 871

1.7

Inner Regional Australia

495

519

24

4.8

Total

346 294

352 189

5 895

1.7

Australia(b)

Major Cities of Australia

14 739 042

15 068 655

329 613

2.2

Inner Regional Australia

4 238 568

4 325 467

86 899

2.1

Outer Regional Australia

2 027 783

2 062 966

35 183

1.7

Remote Australia

321 083

324 031

2 948

0.9

Very Remote Australia

172 064

174 137

2 073

1.2

Total

21 498 540

21 955 256

456 716

2.1

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

(a) See paragraphs 21 to 23 and paragraph 30 of the Explanatory Notes.

Population density varies greatly across Australia, ranging from very low in remote areas to very high in inner-city areas. Australia's population density at June 2009 was 2.9 people per square kilometre (sq km). Among the states and territories, the Australian Capital Territory had the highest population density at 149.8 people per sq km, followed by Victoria with 23.9, New South Wales with 8.9 and Tasmania with 7.4. The remaining states and territories all had population densities below the Australian average, with the Northern Territory having the lowest at just 0.2 people per sq km.

Population density at June 2009 was highest in capital city SDs, particularly in the Sydney SD. Six of the top ten most densely-populated SLAs were located in the Sydney SD, including Sydney (C) - East, which had the highest population density in Australia (8,700 people per sq km), the neighbouring Sydney (C) - West (7,700) and Waverley (A) (7,400), which is located just east of the Sydney (C) LGA and contains the beach-side suburbs of Bondi and Bronte.

Within the Melbourne SD, the SLAs with the greatest population densities were Melbourne (C) - Inner (7,800 people per sq km) and nearby Port Phillip (C) - St Kilda (6,300). In the Brisbane SD, New Farm (5,800) and Kangaroo Point (5,600) had the highest population densities.

At the other end of the scale, there were over 240 SLAs in Australia which had population densities of less than one person per sq km at June 2009, almost one-third of which were located in Western Australia.

The centre of population is one way in which the spatial distribution of Australia's population can be described. This point marks the average latitude and longitude around which the population is distributed.

Australia's centre of population at June 2009 was located approximately 48 kilometres east of the small service town of Ivanhoe, in the western New South Wales LGA of Central Darling (A). The centre of population moved approximately 12.1 kilometres north-west in the five years from June 2004 to June 2009. This shift reflects increased population growth in northern New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia.